Tales of Catheria: The Finale

Anya seemed to think about that, then grinned. "Alright. Then to repay me... be happy. Live life to the fullest, and don't let anyone take your happiness away from you, or your loved ones, again. Okay?"

_________________"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence'. Only 'Inevitability'." ~ Yuuko Ichihara

Poitreene was trying to figure out if that's really all Anya wanted, but her features and everything else seemed genuine. A small faint smile appeared on her lips. "That is one thing I can do for sure. I will defend the people I care about their happiness with everything I have and more. I've been slacking too long in my duties and its time I amended that." She hated how things had turned out, even if it had worked out in their favor in a way with Lloyd's change. "What do you intend to do now?"

Anya paused. "Well, I have a lot of work to do, so I can't stay, but if any of you ever truly need me, just speak to me, in your mind. I'll hear you if you truly are trying to reach me. I usually prefer not to really meddle in the lives of others, unless they truly need my help. Even then, I can't always help anyway. I'm not able to be everywhere at once..." She sighed. "Anyway, I should go. Before I do though, some advice. Head toward Irdel. I can't guarantee they'll be there, but heading there will likely put you on the same path as Valka's Empress. Kaiyuria's a nice woman, she just likes to pretend otherwise. Either way, you'll need her help."

_________________"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence'. Only 'Inevitability'." ~ Yuuko Ichihara

Poitreene paused, mulling this over. A Overlord as a ally would be more then helpful against all the enemies they would be facing at the moment. She'd also have to talk to Valka more about what her empress was like as a person. There were a few other things to take care of as well, such as those two women..

"..I don't suppose you can conjure up some clothes? When the villagers were lead away, there weren't any spare clothes on them and there were two naked women. They both felt demon as well."

"Hm..very well." Poitreene decided she take care of this real quick before rejoining the others. She first headed to the covered wagon, retrieving the clothes and teleporting over to where the villagers were. Many of them turned to her when she appeared, and Poitreene hadn't realized her wings were out until a little boy approached her.

"..Are you like an angel?"

Poitreene blinked, then smiled faintly patting him on the head. "..No, not quite." She went over to where the two naked women were, the villagers left them alone but seemed awkward. At least they weren't bonded anymore, that had been one of the things already taken care of.

"I believe these are yours." Poitreene said, holding out the clothes for them.

The two women accepted the clothes and equipment, moving to quickly get dressed. Once done, the two turned, and bowed to Poitreene, the dark haired woman speaking. "Thank you; you and all those in your group. You saved us from a nightmare... my name is Asagi Igawa, and this is my younger sister, Sakura. We owe you our lives."

_________________"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence'. Only 'Inevitability'." ~ Yuuko Ichihara

Poitreene shook her head. "It's nothing. What kind of people would we be if we simply stood back when it was within our power to help? My name is Poitreene, and I'll introduce you to the others soon enough." She took note of their clothes, thinking back to other things she had seen. "..You two are ninja? I honestly haven't seen any in Paprica..are you two from far away?"

Sakura smiled. "Anti-Demon Ninja. Who happen to be demons. It's complicated. We are from the Netherworld of Harkonin. We serve Empress Kaiyuria. We were captured when Overlord Oboro took over Harkonin in Kaiyuria's absence. You wouldn't happen to know where she might be, would you? We have a feeling she's here... her mana's in the air, anyway."

_________________"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence'. Only 'Inevitability'." ~ Yuuko Ichihara

"Anti-Demons..would that make you like hunters or more just having abilties suited for fighting other demons?" Poitreene was trying to figure that out when the other question came. It amused Poitreene slightly how much of a concidence this had been. It seemed more good luck was coming their way for their good deed today even if it had come with the price of most of her group being knocked out.

"And, actually, yes. We're heading to where she supposedly is at, a city called Irdel. We'll be heading there, you're welcome to tag along with us. Unfourtnately..my group needs to recover, so we'll be set back at least a day here in this village from the looks of things. Funnily enough, we have another person who serves Kaiyu. I assume you know Valka."

Poitreene smiled at this, then went to what seemed to be one of the village elders. "I trust me and my friends staying here for the night won't be a problem?"

The old man in question didn't trust demons, but..they had saved their lives and granddaughter would have been used as some toy otherwise. The woman before him wasn't a demon, but it was obvious they had ones in their ranks like the young woman with red hair.

Maybe they weren't so bad after all. "No. Go ahead. Stay as long as you want, we're grateful."

Poitreene nodded, then went back to Valka and the others. "What's the situation like back in your home realm?"

Valka seemed unsure how to answer, as she'd been thrown through the portal pretty early into things. Asagi, however, frowned. "Not well. Without Empress Kaiyuria around, we had no way to fight Oboro effectively. Oboro, by Overlord standards, isn't that strong. But she's still an Overlord. And while some of us are actually stronger than her, we couldn't take on her entire army. The surprise attack didn't help; she incapacitated our strongest fighters without hesitation. Now, she's fully taken over Harkonin, and is stretching her influence here, since the portal was set here."

_________________"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence'. Only 'Inevitability'." ~ Yuuko Ichihara

Poitreene wandered if this placed them in a no win scenario. Oboro seemed to be strong enough, that it would require a lot of effort on the group's part and they had a rough encounter with that man from earlier. "..That could be a problem. The thug we encountered employed by Oboro was enough to injury enough of my own group we have to rest and that was just one. While others may not be that strong, I'm not sure how this world would fare against such a invasion even if Oboro is taken out the question. It seems, more then anything, we may have a long drawn out conflict."

That was the last thing she wanted. The only good she could see coming from it was the people being forced to work together and break down some barriers, hopefully.

Asagi shook her head. "Not necessarily. I, myself, am stronger than Oboro. She took children hostage to force me to surrender, along with Sakura, and many others. If we are able to force Oboro into a fair fight, that's all we will need."

_________________"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence'. Only 'Inevitability'." ~ Yuuko Ichihara

Poitreene hoped that would be enough, but Asagi and Sakura knew more about the situation then she did. "All right. Go ahead and rest or do whatever you want to do in the mean time. I'm going to get a few things taken care of, look for me if you need my help with anything."

She went to talk to some of the villagers to let them know it was safe to go back now, and they reluctantly agreed. Still a bit jumpy, so Poitreene escorted them back to their homes. After that, she tried to see if Anya was still around so she could see her off and maybe ask one other final question or two.

"I just wanted to once again thank you." Poitreene said sincerely. "It wasn't something you had to do, and considering my past its more then I could deserve. There's so many others who lost their loved ones tragically from events out of their control the fact I was all people chosen..."

She shook her head. "..Anyway, that was about it. I still feel as if I hadn't really earned this, but I won't look for a gift in a horses mouth. I'm going to try to be a much better Guardian Goddess for the people here. Not just how I conduct things, but getting stronger. This..encounter was a wake up call."

Anya placed a hand on Poitreene's arm, smiling as always. "We all make mistakes, Poitreene, because none of us are perfect. None of us were ever meant to be perfect. The fact that you regret your mistakes and want to correct them, is all I can ask of you."

_________________"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence'. Only 'Inevitability'." ~ Yuuko Ichihara

Anya smiled. "I'm sure we'll see each other again some day, though I can't say when, for sure. But if you want to see me or just talk, all you have to do is call for me in your mind, and I'll hear you."

_________________"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence'. Only 'Inevitability'." ~ Yuuko Ichihara

Before too long, night had fallen and the group were resting in preperation for the next day. They had all stayed in a rather large house with everyone in various rooms. Croix had felt a bit mischievous at the moment, so he had put Sheena and Culotte in the same room. Not in the same bed of course, but he felt it might push for them to at least talk maybe. Alouette and Raine were in the same room together sleeping and knocked out still while Croix had put Presea in her own room. She was completely healed, but Croix couldn't help but on some level worry about her after what happened. He did about everyone, but still.

Poitreene, Alan and Alison went with their own rooms, and Prier went with Lloyd.

* * "You really scared me, you know that?" Prier was talking to the unconscious Lloyd, sitting on the bed with him. "I thought I might have lost you..again. I was so scared and angry at the time I couldn't really think straight..but things are okay now. But for now, I'll let you rest. We have a lot to talk about.."

The demon paused, then leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "Get some rest Lloyd. I love you." No one was around and Lloyd was unconcious she felt a bit more free at the moment, otherwise she might've been a bit embarrassed.

"..Well, that's one way to wake up..." Lloyd chuckled a bit, opening his eyes, now a soft silver, and already blushing. He'd just woken in time for the kiss on the forehead. It was nice. "...So... do I look any different?"

_________________"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence'. Only 'Inevitability'." ~ Yuuko Ichihara

Prier was a bit surprised, but recovered quickly offering a faint warm smile, nodding. "A little, but not too much. Your eyes are silver and you have wings, they're pretty cool. You're the same Lloyd to me though; just have some cool add ons and got stronger. Same with me right?"